Keith Rendleman did his best to keep up with the UNCW men’s basketball team while playing in Korea this season by watching The Buzz Peterson Show online. (Here’s the story from Tuesday’s print edition updating his pro career.) Shortly after he returned to Wilmington from his first season of professional basketball, the forward’s former coach was out of a job.

Keith Rendleman was a two-time All-CAA pick while at UNCW. (Jeff Janowski/StarNews)

Rendleman said he wasn’t surprised by the decision to fire Peterson after four seasons with a 42-82 record but defended the difficult situations the coach faced during his tenure.

know too much about the business of coaching, I just know he’s had it hard, too,” Rendleman said. “Just from the years he’s been here, he’s had it tough. I can’t say it’s technically all his fault.”

Rendleman was recruited to UNCW by Benny Moss, who was fired midway through his freshman year. He became a two-time All-CAA selection under Peterson and opted to stick around even after the team was hit with a postseason ban for its academic shortcomings under the old regime.

The Denver, N.C. native could have transferred elsewhere for his final season but wanted to stay in Wilmington, which he called “home” in a recent interview. Rendleman originally told Peterson he would sit out the 2012-2013 season and finish his career in 2013-2014 before changing his mind.

In the end, UNCW stumbled to a 10-20 finish in Rendleman’s senior season with losses in nine of its last 11 games. This year, the struggles continued without him. The Seahawks specialized in losing close in a 9-23 season that included a school-record 14-game losing skid.

“He had rough years,” Rendleman said. “When he first got here (in 2010) he had what 11 people? I don’t know how many of them were on scholarship. The second year he came in and had eight freshmen. The third year you’re battling APR so not too many people are excited about not going to the postseason. Three bad years, that gets you right there.”

After Peterson was fired, Rendleman reached out to the coach. He said Peterson characterized the move as a business decision, and the forward added he could tell how much all the losing had weighed on the coach.

“He was a good guy to me,” Rendleman said. “He did his best to try and motivate us. He’s had lots of coaching experience. I felt like he knew what he was doing. He just had it hard.”

Rendleman has been around Trask Coliseum almost daily in recent weeks as he continues to train for the next move in his pro career. He’s naturally run into Kevin Keatts and even taken time to watch some the coach’s individual workouts with his new players.

“He seems like a real good guy,” Rendleman said. “I’m excited to see what he brings to it.”

Kuebler, If Rendleman doesn’t know, he can always ask you. After all, you are Wilmington’s know it all. By chance if you don’t know, I guess we are all doomed and will never know how tough Buzz really had it.

I am sure you will expound more on this subject since you also take the last word in any forum……..

About This Blog

Hey there, I’m StarNews staff writer Eric Detweiler, and I handle the UNCW beat. I’m a Pennyslvania native who went to the University of Maryland and came to Wilmington in August 2013 after stops in Denver and Washington, D.C. Feel free to reach out with questions or comments about our coverage of the Seahawks. Thanks for reading.